Never Ever Throw Anything Away

Note to self: Never ever walk away from a pile of broken chairs at the brocante ever again! I found these at Resign in Italy and thank you Resign for teaching me a very valuable lesson.

A Cake and Some Biscuits

Amazing - By Chez Bogato in France, well where else?

The Waiting Game

It's March and our youngest daughter, Charlotte, is waiting to give birth to her first baby. However she is a long way away, just outside Paris in fact. So it's a time to take notice of tiny things (see below) and I even have reminder on my window ledge - a vintage Charlotte tin full of Eiffel Towers - Paris in Charlotte as opposed to Charlotte in Paris. Nothing so strange as an expectant Grandmother.

Gorgeous little Moccasin from Lou Lou Addict in France

My Re-Vamp of an Ancient Restaurant

Late last year I worked on re-vamping a restaurant in The Holly Bush an old drovers' inn in the Northumberland National Park, one of the very few that are left. It being over 300 years old it posed some challenges.

The theme I used was shadows and tricks of the eye. After all some very bloody battles took place in this region in the past when the Border Reivers and the Scots battled for what were called – debatable lands. To bring some humour to the table (so to speak)I used giant trompe l'oeil cutlery on the wall facing the entrance,

trompe l'oeil books on the stone fireplace

a collage of empty vintage picture frames were placed in a corner with shadows real and fake.



By dying an old lace tablecloth grey I made a statement at the huge centre table.

I stencilled numbers on the tables using vintage brass stencils I had found in Paris. Vivid green accents were added.

The walls were painted using our paints which we have specially mixed for us in France.

Little items of Ghost Furniture crept in and

all the furniture was found at flea markets and painted to match the walls and

upholstered in varying red, grey and black fabrics, some of which were reversible.

Reflective lettering was added to the walls just to remind people where exactly they are.
You can see more images from this re-vamp on our website Ghost Furniture.

So Near Yet So Far - BHLDN

I find it infuriating and very frustrating when coming across a website that has stuff I would buy but I can't because they don't deliver to the UK. I love the items on BHLDN but alas they are not to be mine.
STOP PRESS: I have just had a comment from the company that says they will be shipping worldwide in a month or so. Thank you whoever you were.

Chairs

I don't think anything I could say would do justice to these fabulous images from Rayewillow's photo stream at Flickr. So just sit back and enjoy.

I Am Shopkeeper of The Week

I was honoured to be the Shopkeeper of The Week at The Secret Arcade this week. If you want to read what I had to say go and take a visit. Pretend it's a little trip to a Parisian Arcade, I always do.

A Spoon In a Test Tube

Who would have thought a vintage spoon in a test tube could be so beautiful? By The Dansant

Not So Much a Newsletter More a Magazine

We have just launched our new Ghost Furniture Newsletter and I have been delighted by the response. Lovely emails and messages saying how much people like it. You see I receive newsletters every day and I have to admit most of them leave me cold. I wanted to do a newsletter that made people want to sit down with a cup of coffee, put their feet up and enjoy. Ours is not full of self promotion it has articles about all sorts of things. We aren't even afraid of promoting other people in it. Next month we will have a page dedicated to our favourite websites.
Make yourself a cuppa and go and have a read, I would love to know what you think.

Knits For Kids at Luna and Curious

How cute are these knits? All available at Luna and Curious online. I love the Busby Hat and Guards Uniform. It's hard to believe they are all knitted even the Gun Holster.

Anita Kaushal - Pretty Things

Anita Kaushal is an interior designer who, to me anyway, creates very calming interiors. On her website she has a little shop with delightfully pretty things to purchase. More interior designers should do this.

Nini Violette - Hand Painted Ceramics

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from Nini Violette asking is she could link to me on her blog, she didn't even leave her blog address so this wasn't a trick to get me to see her work. I promptly Googled her name and found her blog then I noticed she had a Flickr page link to her work and I was so pleased I clicked through. I have been known to paint the odd teapot but this is something else.
Please go and see her work it is stunning.